I have secretly always wanted to dance. When I was five I told my mom I wanted to try figure skating. She suggested I try hockey instead. No shade to my mom, because hockey is still a massive passion of mine, but from a young age I was drawn to the fun moves and the cute outfits. I never did try figure skating, nor did I take any dance classes…until now. Six weeks ago I joined a dance class for adult newbies. I am quite bad and I have so much fun. I laugh my butt off, I try really hard, I mess up every routine, and I leave in a great mood.
Having fun changes everything. It is life-giving, and it’s sometimes easier to have fun when I’m not very good at the thing I’m doing. As soon as I become competent at an activity I start to put expectations on myself, or I get a bit competitive. I can still have fun, but not the deeply unserious and deeply joyful release of moving my body badly to 90s music.
Tonight we did body rolls. No, actually. Let me try that again. I definitely did NOT do any body rolls. Not one. But that was the move we were attempting, and the effort alone had me cackling.
Fun reignites my fire when the jobs and appointments and responsibilities of life have turned me into a pile of smouldering embers. Having fun also makes me more sure of who I am. It teaches me what I like and what makes me feel, and it helps me find the people with whom I share common interests. There is an instant spark of friendship between two people having fun together.
There’s a difference between doing something I love and having fun. I can, of course, have fun doing things I love, but it’s not a given. I love making music, but because I trained for it at a high level and because I do it professionally, it can feel more serious than fun at times. When I write songs I am usually inspired by a strong emotion or something I need to get off my chest. I never write from a place of trying to have fun.
That is odd.
Why have I never approached songwriting as something that can make me laugh, something that can make me feel giddy and silly and give me a lift in the middle of a hard day? Why do I take it so seriously?
I know why. I take it seriously because I want to be good at it. I want my songs to be well written and for them to matter to people. At some point I internalized the idea that “fun songs” are not “songs that matter.”
That is also odd.
Some of my favourite songs are fun and silly. The song Downtown by Macklemore? Give me a break.
Am I alone in this? If you’re someone who has figured out how to do something both well and with a sense of fun, tell me your secrets. If you’re like me and the pursuit of doing a thing well gets in the way of doing it with joyful abandon, what are we gonna do to shake that up?
My life needs more joyful abandon, so let’s figure this one out, shall we?
Upcoming Shows
July 2 at 6pm - Plainville United is opening for YASSiN and Sean Terrio at the Road to Cultivate free, outdoor show in Memorial Park, Port Hope
July 18 at 6:30pm
Burdock Brewery, Toronto
I’m supporting Lo and the High Road with my longtime pal and collaborator Whitney O’Hearn
July 25 at 7:30pm
Sadleir House, Peterborough
I’m supporting Lo and the High Road solo
Latest Podcast (and her Music Video sister)
This week’s episode of Make Like a Mother is a beautiful conversation with Meghan Sheffield, the artist behind this unbelievably special crankie box music video.
You can listen/watch/read the podcast episode at any of these links, which include all the usual places to listen to a podcast, YouTube and Substack.
xo
Shannon
P.S. Shoutout to the Comeback Dance Collective for making the silly dance magic happen.